


One Hell of a King

by Mangoesaregood8



Category: Original Work
Genre: Angels, Demons, Heaven, Hell, Mythology - Freeform, Succubi & Incubi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-13
Updated: 2016-10-13
Packaged: 2018-08-22 04:13:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,761
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8272378
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mangoesaregood8/pseuds/Mangoesaregood8
Summary: Lucifer has been called away on business and needs someone to watch over Hell while he's gone. He's asked Hades, the Prince of Lust, and the lowest circle of Hell to look over things until he returns. Hades thinks he's in for an easy day, but that changes when a report from an angel shows that they could potentially have a war on their hands.





	

Being a prince of the lowest circle of Hell wasn't easy.  The only people who would listen were the subjects of the kingdom.  To the other Princes and Princesses, Hades was just a laughing stock.  He was often the butt end of many a joke.  Especially when it came to Osiris.  Hades and Osiris had been rivals practically since Hades had taken the throne.  Osiris, being the prince of the highest circle, had only one figure he had to answer to.  That was Lucifer himself.

Hades had been pacing around in his study, his mind too preoccupied to focus on the small mountain of paperwork that was starting to pile on his desk.  It had been a surprise to him when he discovered that paperwork even existed down here.  Then again, there had to be some way to organize and manage all of the people that managed to make their way to his realm.

He sat down at his desk to give one last attempt at the work load for the day.  There had been a few new arrivals that needed to be processed.  Hades sighed and ran his fingers through his dark, curly hair when he realized that that also meant they had to be trained.  He was the Prince of the circle of Lust, and being an Incubi or Succubi was a little different than being a normal demon.  Even just the transition from being human to demon often left one needing help adjusting.  Most people were  in too much shock to properly take care of themselves.

Hades was finally making some headway in his work when he heard a knock at the door.

He groaned.  "What is it?  I'm a little busy at the moment."

"It's an urgent message from Lucifer sir," a voice said from behind the heavy wooden door.  Hades recognized it to be Cerberus, the head of his servants.  "He said to make sure it was delivered to you in person."

"Alright, bring it in."  Hades set his pen down.  If Lucifer was sending him messages, he definitely wasn't going to get any more work done.

Cerberus opened the door and handed Hades a small envelope that had been closed with a wax seal.  When Hades took it, he noticed that wax was still warm.

"It must really be urgent if he didn't have the time to let the wax cool down properly.  Did he tell you what is going on?" Hades asked as he grabbed the letter opener.

"No, my liege.  He just said to deliver the letter to you immediately," Cerberus said.

"Very well."  Hades slipped the letter opener into the envelope, broke the seal and pulled out the letter.

 

_Prince Hades,_

_I have urgent matters that I must attend to and I would like to meet with you before I depart.  Please meet me in my throne room as soon as you receive this message._

_-Lucifer_

Hades sighed.  "It's something so urgent that he can't bother to put it into a letter?"

"I suppose not," Cerberus said.

"Well, I'll be back later."  Hades stood up and stretched.

"Would you like for me to prepare anything for you while you're gone my liege?" Cerberus asked.

"That's alright.  I don't think I'll be gone all that long.  Though a glass of wine does sound nice."

"I'll have it ready for you by the time you get back then."

"Good."  Hades smiled.  "You're free to go then."

Cerberus bowed before leaving the room.

Hades left and started the long trek to Lucifer's palace.  It was situated on top of all of the circles.

Once Hades finally arrived, he was greeted at the door by a servant.

"Prince Hades."  The servant gave a bow.  "Master Lucifer has been waiting for you."

"Yes, I'm well aware.  Take me to him."

The servant lead Hades through the grand palace and into the throne room.  Lucifer's palace was so big, that it made Hades's look like a modest home, which left Hades feeling a bit jealous.  Though while Hades decorated his palace in blacks, deep purples and blood reds, Lucifer decorated his in grays, gold, and blues.

"Right through here sir."  The servant stopped in front of a pair of ornate silver doors with golden designs etched into the face.  He opened the door and bowed to Hades before motioning him through. 

Hades walked through the door and up to the throne.  Considering how urgent Lucifer's message seemed, he was surprised when he didn't see the man on the throne in front of him.

"If I had known I would have been waiting, I would have brought some work with me to keep me entertained," Hades muttered to himself.

"But you know I wouldn't keep you waiting long, Hades." 

Hades turned around.  Lucifer had entered through another door in the far side of the throne room.  His usual calm and collected look was carefully painted on his face, but deep in his red eyes, Hades could tell he was anything but.

"Of course not, my lord."  Hades gave a bow.  "Now, if you don't mind my asking, what could be so urgent that you needed to meet with me so suddenly?"

"I'm glad you asked."  Lucifer made his way to his throne and sat down, crossing his ankle over his knee.  "I've been called away to a meeting today and I need someone to watch over the kingdom in my absence."

"I see."  Hades nodded then paused.  "But what does that have to do with me?"

"That's what I called you here for.  I want you to watch over the Kingdom."

Hades quirked an eyebrow.  "Me?  You want me, the Prince of Lust, to watch over the entirety of Hell?"

"Yes."

Hades started looking around.

Lucifer frowned.  "What are you doing?"

"I'm looking for a camera.  This is a joke, isn't it?"  Hades knew that Lucifer liked him, but he wouldn't put it past the man to get together with other Princes and play a joke on him.  Especially one like this.  Everyone loved to remind Hades how low ranking he was.  Other than Purgatory, he was the lowest of the circles.

"It's not  joke.  Though if you don't believe you can handle the responsibility, I'd be more than happy to delegate it to someone else," Lucifer said.

"No, no.  I can handle it.  I just wasn't expecting such a huge responsibility to be passed down to me."

"Do you accept this responsibility?" Lucifer asked.

Hades nodded and smirked.  "Yes, I do."

Lucifer leaned back in his chair and twirled the end of his mustache with a smile.  "Excellent."

Hades chuckled and shook his head.  "You're not still trying to start that ridiculous mustache club, are you sir?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"  Lucifer sat up again.  "You should come join it Hades. We meet every Wednesday.  I know you'd like it."

"As honored as I am by the personal invitation my lord, I can't grow facial hair.  And even if I could, I don't look very good with it."

"We're always looking for a new member."

Hades frowned.  "Not to be rude or anything, but aren't you the only one with facial hair, sir?"  He hated using the formalities, but if it helped him stay on Lucifer's good side, then it was worth it.

"Back to important matters." Lucifer stood up and descended the stairs so that he was standing on the same level as Hades.  Lucifer still towered over him by a good few inches though.  "I'll need to be leaving soon and I need to make sure that I'll be leaving my Kingdom in capable hands."

"Yes, of course my Lord.  What will you need me to do while you're away?"

"Hopefully, you won't need to do much of anything, but I'll leave any circumstances that may arise to your discretion.  I do believe you will handle matters appropriately."

"Yes, of course my Lord."  Hades bowed.  "I'm honored by the trust you place in my judgment."

"Wonderful.  Then I'll be on my way," Lucifer said.

A servant rushed into the room with a lavish blue silk coat and helped Lucifer into it. 

"Good luck Hades.  And I hope that I will have a Kingdom to come back to when I return."

With that, Lucifer left the room in a puff of smoke.

Hades looked around the room.  It was far bigger than his own throne room, and filled with different jewels and treasures.  Hades was never really able to get a good look at the room when he was here on business, so he took the time to do so now.

Lucifer had so many gems, that Hades could only name half of them.

"I can't imagine how long it would have taken him to collect all of these.  Or where some of these even came from," Hades murmured to himself.

After he perused the  various treasures that were strewn about the room, he approached the throne.  It was an ornate chair, made of solid gold.  The arms and the back of the throne were encrusted with sapphires and blue diamonds.  To make sitting in it more comfortable, there were blue cushions, which Hades assumed were made of silk, attached to it.

"This looks far more comfortable than my throne..."  He trailed off in thought.  Lucifer did leave him in charge for the day.  Surely it would be alright if he sat on it. 

"Well, it can't hurt."  Hades practically lunged at the throne before sitting down in it.

He immediately sank into the plush fabric.  No wonder Lucifer always wanted to hold meetings in his throne room.  If Hades had a chair like this, he never would want to get out of it.

"I might have to take some inspiration from this room if I ever decide I want to redecorate.  He took note of the different pieces in the room, thinking about what he would change or what he would keep.

Hades had been going over the decor of the room for about an hour when he heard a knock on the door to the throne room.  He sat up, realizing that he had gotten a little too comfortable.

"Yes?  Come in."

A servant slipped in past the door.  "There's someone here to see you, sir."  Their eyes stayed glued to the floor.

"Oh, really?  Send them in."

"Yes sir."  The servant left and the door closed behind them.

Not even a moment later, the door opened once again and this time, one of the other Princes walked into the door.  He walked half way into the room before stopping dead in his tracks.

"Hades?"  The other demon blinked, wanting to make sure he was seeing correctly.  "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Hello Donn."  Hades smirked and crossed his ankle over his knee as he leaned back against the throne.  "Can I help you with something?"

"Aye.  You can tell me where the bloody hell Lucifer is and why you're sitting in his throne.  Have you lost your damn mind?"

Hades chuckled to himself.  The irritation in Donn's voice was brought out by his thick, Irish accent.

"Lucifer is away on business.  And as to why I'm sitting in his throne, he left me in charge until he returns."

"What?  Why would he leave you of all people in charge?  Why not Osiris?"

"I can't say that I know.  Though I do know that if you have business with Lucifer, you can certainly take it up with me until he returns."

Donn shook his head.  "No bloody way.  I don't need your help."

"Well obviously you needed help with something if you're here.  What is it?  Don't you trust me?"

Donn huffed and crossed his arms over his chest.  "To be frank with you, no, I don't.  After what you did to me last year, I don't have any reason to trust you."

"Oh come on now Donn.  What's past is past.  Besides, all's fair in love and war." 

"How the hell was that fair?" Donn demanded. 

"I was tired of being on the bottom.  Besides, you healed.  No harm, no foul."  He gave Donn a sarcastic smirk.

Donn rolled his eyes.

"So, are you going to tell me what you came all this way for, or are you going to go back home empty handed?"

Donn was silent as he thought for a moment before slowly shaking his head.  "I think I'll take my chances and wait for Lucifer to return.  Speaking of which, do you know when I can expect him?"

"He'll be back later."

"Later when?" Donn demanded.

"I can't say.  He didn't say when he would return."  And it wasn't a lie.  The meeting may have been scheduled for today, but who knew how long they were going to drag on.

"I think I'll risk it," Donn said.  "Considering how you can barely rule over your own kingdom, I don't think you can help me with mine."

Hades could feel his eyes start to glow.  "Ah yes... You can certainly run your own kingdom, but yet if I'm so weak and incapable, how did I manage to capture you?"

Donn's eyes started glowing with equal intensity.  "That was just luck!"

"Well, be that as it may, if you have nothing left to ask me, then I suggest you leave."

"Good."  Donn turned to leave.  "I was just on my way out."

"Try not to let the door hit you on the way out this time," Hades said with a chuckle.

Donn stormed out of the room, slamming the large door behind him.  It resounded through the room with a loud boom.

Hades leaned back against the edge of the throne and sighed.  "To think... You cut off someone's genitalia _one time_ and they hold a grudge against you for a millennia."  He rolled his eyes before staring up at the ceiling.

His next thought was cut off by another knock at the door.

"What is it now?" He asked, sitting back up in the throne.

The same servant from before stepped back in.  "I'm sorry sir.  There's another guest here to see you.  He said it was urgent."

"Alright then, let him in."  Hades sighed.  This was always his least favorite part of the job.  He often had visitors in his own realm, though most of the time it was just his subjects needing help dealing with simple disputes.

A minute later, the door opened again and the servant lead a different man in this time.  The man was tall and was wearing a floor length white robe.  He had long brown hair that was pulled back into a pony tail that ended just below his waist.  His medium brown eyes were behind silver, round rimmed glasses that were perched on the bridge of his nose.

The man walked up to the throne before pausing.

"H-Hades?"  He froze and his eyes widened in surprise.

"Why hello brother," Hades said with a smirk.  "To what do I owe the pleasure of you visiting today?  It's been quite a long time since I've seen you last, Heinrich."

Heinrich looked around the room and frowned.  "What are you doing here?  Where is Lucifer?"

"Any business that you have with Lucifer can be taken up with me."

Heinrich's eyes widened even more, which Hades didn't think was possible.  "You didn't... You didn't... Did you?"

"My my, I'm feeling a bit betrayed brother.  I thought I was the only demon you cared about.  I didn't think that angels could have feelings for other demons they didn't know."

"We angels, unlike you demons, are compassionate beings.  Just because you all decided to reject God doesn't mean that we've chosen to reject you," Heinrich said.

"Hm... Is that so?  Seems a bit too late for that, doesn't it?  We're already in Hell for all eternity.  I don't think there's any shot at redemption now.  Not that I would have it any other way of course.  It's far too stuffy up in Heaven.  I think you ought to join me down here.  I know you would like it."

Heinrich shook his head.  "Thank you, but no.  I think I'll keep my good graces and stay where I belong." 

Hades could see the corner of Heinrich's mouth twitching.  He really didn't like the idea of becoming a fallen angel, and Hades didn't blame him.  Being cast out of Heaven was a painful and dangerous ordeal, and could potentially be lethal.  Once you had fallen from grace, the other angels didn't care what happened to you.  It seemed a little harsh to Hades who thought angels were all about forgiveness.

"So my dear brother.  What brings you to my realm?" Hades asked as he lounged back in the throne.

"You never answered my question.  What happened to Lucifer?"

Hades sighed and rolled his eyes.  "You mean you didn't come all this way to visit your little brother?"

"Hades.  Answer my question," Heinrich demanded.

"Alright, alright.  Don't get your robes in a knot.  Lucifer is away on business."

"Business?  I wasn't informed about this."  Heinrich frowned and bit his lip.

"What reason would he have to let you know?"  Hades asked.  "You're no demon, and you're certainly not God."  He made a face.  Just saying that name left a bad taste in his mouth.

"Well, I have my own business that I need to discuss with him.  Something rather urgent."

"Well then."  Hades leaned forward with his elbows on his knees.  "You have my attention."

"I don't think this is a problem that you can handle, Hades."

"Oh?" Hades scowled.  "And what makes you say that?"

"It's a matter involving demons higher than you are."

"I'm a Prince.  The only one who is higher than me is-"

"This involves more than one demon Hades."

Hades huffed.  "Well you could have told me that in the first place.  Regardless of your beliefs in my skills and abilities, if you have a problem that you need to direct to Lucifer, then you can direct it to me."

"I think this problem will beyond what you can handle, but very well."  Heinrich held out his arm and a rather thick folder materialized in his hand.  "I know that you demons need souls to survive, and as much as I would like to, there's nothing that we angels can do to stop you from eating them."

"Yes."  Hades quirked an eyebrow.  "I don't really see an issue here."

"The issue is that you demons agreed to a specific number of souls that you are allowed to take."

"Yes, that's an issue for us.  There's plenty of demons down here, which means plenty of hungry mouths to feed."

Heinrich sighed.  "If you would let me finish."  He cleared his throat before continuing.  "The issue is that demons have been taking souls that they aren't supposed to.  Twice as many as you all are supposed to."  He thrust the folder towards Hades.

Hades took the folder and started leafing through it, looking at the reports and charts that it contained.  "Oh..."

"Now do you see the issue?"

Hades nodded.  "Yes... This... This is going to be a problem."  He closed the folder and pinched the bridge of his nose.  "Do these demons want a war on their hands?" 

"Well if they keep taking souls like this, you're going to have one."

"I'll message the other Princes then.  We need to start monitoring who is going out and when.  Then maybe we can see which demons are out when too many souls are being taken."

"And?"  Heinrich asked.

"And... what?"

"And I'm assuming you'll also let Lucifer know what's going on.  If there's a possibility of a war, he ought to know."

"Yes, of course."  Hades chuckled softly and stood up.  "Did you really think I would leave him out of this?"

"Now that I've delivered my message, I need to get back to Heaven.  I want to spend as little time here as possible," Heinrich said.

"You don't want to spend some time with me?  Come on Heinrich.  A least stay for a glass of wine.  I have a new one that's to die for," Hades said with a smirk.

"No Hades.  I'm a busy man.  And you know that I don't drink."

Hades frowned.  "Come on.  The only way you spend time with me is when I kidnap you, and being punished for kidnapping an angel is starting to get a little old."

"If you want to spend time with me so badly, then I'll come visit later.  For now, I need to go.  We're very busy right now and I can't be away for long," Heinrich turned to leave.

"I honestly don't see the appeal of being an angel you know.  You seem to constantly work yourself to the bone, but what do you get out of it?  Are you even really happy up there?"

Heinrich paused.  "Yes.  Of course I'm happy.  I'm in an eternal paradise.  I can't say the same for you."

"Alright.  But are you truly happy?"

Heinrich frowned and shook his head.  "I don't have time for this.  I need to go.  I'll see you later Hades."

With that, Heinrich left the room to return to Heaven.

Hades sighed and sat back down on the throne.  Despite not getting along with his brother, he really did care about Heinrich, even if it didn't show very well.  He was worried about how cruel the other angels could be with their strictness.  Even if Heinrich was a higher ranking angel, he was still subject to their coldness.  Some of the angels made the demons look like saints.

Hades reached over and pulled down on the satin rope that was hanging down next to him.  He knew it was a bell to summon a servant. 

A mere few seconds later, a servant scurried through the door.  "Yes sir?  Can I help you with something?"

"Yes.  Show me the way to the study."

"Yes, of course sir.  Right this way." 

Hades stood up, taking the folder that Heinrich had given him, and followed the servant through a door that sat to the right of the throne.  This door wasn't as big or ornate as the main set of doors that led into the throne room. This door lead through a short hallway, which lead into the study.

"If you need anything else sir, please let us know," the servant said with a bow.

"You are dismissed."

The servant gave another bow before leaving the room.

Hades sat down at the large wooden desk and started looking for paper and ink.  He needed to let the other Princes know what was going on.  And seeing how urgently Heinrich wanted to talk to Lucifer himself, Hades was fairly certain that the angels weren't very far away from declaring war.

He found some paper and a quill and ink well and started writing.  Once he was done, he looked over the message before signing and copying it seven times.  He gave them a few minutes to dry before folding them and sealing them with Lucifer's wax seal. 

Hades looked around and found another pull rope about arms length away.  Everything was so conveniently placed here.  He tugged on it and the servant from before entered the room.

"Yes sir?  What can I do for you?"

Hades stood and handed the letters to the servants.  "I need you to deliver these to the other Princes.  And I want you to put these letters directly into their hands.  Not to their servants, but to them.  Do you understand?"

The servant nodded quickly.  "Yes sir."

All of Lucifer's servants had a specific uniform with his seal on it, so everyone could recognize them.

"Good. Now go."

The servant bowed and scurried out of the room to deliver the letters.

Hades sighed and returned to the throne room with the folder.  He would give that to Lucifer when he returned.

He sat back down on the throne, and leaned back against it.  He was starting to get a bit of a headache. He didn't think that his day was going to turn out to be this eventful.   He could only imagine having to deal with this kind of thing on a daily basis.  It was making Hades start to miss the simplicity of his own realm.  No wonder Lucifer had the Princes.  He couldn't imagine trying to keep that many demon under the control of one.  Demons by nature didn't like rules and order, so their entire society was a marvel.

Hades discovered he had dozed off when he found himself being shaken awake.

"What?"  He bolted up in the throne and looked around.  "Is someone dying?"

He heard a chuckle from in front of him.  It took his eyes a moment to adjust to see Lucifer standing there.

"Ah."  He rubbed his eyes and stretched.  "Back so soon my lord?"

"So soon?  Hades, I've been gone for a few hours.  I asked you to watch over Hell, not to take a nap on top of it."

Hades stood up, reluctantly leaving the throne.  He was going to have to look into some new materials for his own.  Then again, if he fell asleep in it, it wouldn't be very good for conducting official business.

"I wasn't asleep the whole time.  I took care of business like you asked.  Though Donn came to visit earlier, but he wouldn't tell me why."

Lucifer shrugged and resumed his place on his throne.  "That doesn't surprise me.  Did anything else happen?"

"Oh yes!  This is much more significant.  My brother came to visit.  Apparently there have been some demons who have been getting a little greedy, and taking more souls than we are allowed.  Understandably so, the angels aren't very happy about that.  I'm a little worried that they might be preparing for a war.  I sent a message out to the other Princes to let them know about the situation and to start monitoring who comes and goes."  He handed the folder that Heinrich had given him earlier over to Lucifer.

Lucifer nodded.  "Very good.  There's not much else we can do until we know who is responsible.  Once we do though, that person will be punished severely.  I want to avoid another war with the angels if possible."  He took the folder and gave it a cursory glance.

"I agree.  Another war wouldn't be good.  They nearly wiped us all out last night.  If we hadn't surrendered..."

"I know." He sighed and leaned back in his throne.

"As much as I love Hel and her realm, it wouldn't surprise if it was one of her own.  She is the ruler of Gluttony."

"Yes, yes, but I'm not going to go around and start pointing fingers," Lucifer said.  "Not yet anyways."

"Of course not, my lord.  We wouldn't want to start turning demons against each other.  Especially not right now.  But with that, I must be on my way.  As much fun as it was to run your kingdom, I gladly hand this headache over to you."  He gave a bow.  "Good bye sir."

"What?"  Lucifer frowned and stood up.  "Hades?  What a minute!"

Hades was already on his way out of the door.  He knew he would get a nice long lecture for this later, but he didn't care.  If there really was a war looming in the distance, then he had enough to deal with in his own kingdom to prepare.  He was sure Lucifer could hold his own.

Hades returned to his own realm and headed straight for his bedroom.  He wanted to lay down for a while.

He didn't get a chance to lay down for long before there was a knock at the door.

"Ugh... What is it now?  I just got back," He whined.

Cerberus squeezed through the barely open door before giving a bow.  "I don't mean to interrupt my liege, but you said to have a glass of wine ready for you when you returned.  Would you still like it?"

Hades chuckled softly to himself.  Cerberus was his favorite servant.  He may have been loyal to a fault, but Hades wouldn't have it any other way.

"I have a better idea.  How about instead of that glass of wine, you come and share my bed with me?"  He scooted over to make room for Cerberus before patting the bed.

"If you wish, my liege."

"I do."

Cerberus climbed on top of the bed with Hades and spent the rest of the evening keeping Hades's company.


End file.
